Trip Report: Laos Day 5, Targeted

Although we were out a bit late last night, we were up early for our last day in Laos. The first order of business was to check out of the hotel and get a bit of breakfast. Then, we all piled in the van and took a tour of Vientiane. Our stops included the triumphal arch called "Patuxai", which is quite nice when viewed from a distance, but up close (or inside) is a little bit exemplary of the Communist rule which it heralds: Grand and golden on the outside, but peeling and pitted on the inside.

After that, it was off to Pha That Luang, the golden stupa, and Laos national symbol... a centuries old structure said to contain one of the Buddha's ribs. (Weird, eh? Christians just buried their savior and he rose to heaven... Buddhists chopped up their guy into little pieces and shipped them all over Asia.)

From there, it was 20 miles downriver to Buddha Park, in which can be found dozens of cement sculptures celebrating both Buddhism and Hinduism. It is also the home of deadly fruit trees: Rick, Willie and I were walking back to the bar for yet another Beer Lao break when a 10-pound breadfruit came plummeting from the tops of a tree we were under, and exploded about 2 feet in front of Rick with a very loud splat. Another step, and Rick would have been really messed up. So we shat ourselves, then laughed, then made a hasty exit from beneath the overhead hanging death, then wiped the goo off of ourselves, and then sat down and toasted Buddha and Ganesh alike for the opportunity to drink at least one more Beer Lao in our lives.

After Buddha Park, it was off to Rick's and Da's new house that they are building. I was actually stunned at the size and scope of the house that Da had built alongside the Mekong River. (Rick spends most of his time in Thailand and Viet Nam, and Da has been handling most of the construction.) In addition, the cost: Rick so far has put less then $15,000 into the place, and yet it is a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 2-kitchen, 2-living-room, 1-balcony, 1-porch place coming in at about 1,500 square feet. (For all you Pattaya real-estate players out there: This is proof positive that you are getting ripped off paying $100,000 for a 1,500-square-foot house in Southeast Asia.)

Anyway, we sat and ate loads of Thai food, and then the local ladies cracked open some freshly-picked coconuts and we enjoyed that (along with Beer Lao), and chatted with Rick about his house.

From there, it was a short van ride to the border. Pui and I did some duty-free shopping there. (Best deal: Drambuie at $22 per bottle compared to $40 in Thailand.) Then, stamped out of Laos, a quick bus ride across the border, and stamped into Thailand with very little wait... surprising for that border crossing.

We had a quick tuk-tuk ride to the train station, and were seated in our comfortable air-conditioned second class seats by the 6:20 p.m. whistle (first class was sold out unfortunately). We all went to the bar car and hung out there until about midnight... going through about 12 big bottles of beer Leo... not Beer Lao, unfortunately... we'll miss it.

I went to sleep at about midnight with the clackety-clack of the train rocking me to sleep.